Moments in Time
by Blonde-Weasley1
Summary: A series of oneshots about moments in time that never happened because of James and Lily's deaths.
1. Harry's Letter

Eleven-year-old Harry Potter was amazed. Sure he had grown up in the Wizarding World, but he'd only imagined when this day came. In his hands was his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Behind him his mum, Lily Potter, was almost jumping up and down with joy. Her first-born son was going to Hogwarts.

"Mum, is this real? I mean… I'm actually going?" Lily hugged her son in delight.

"Of course it's real sweetheart! Look, McGonagall's signature at the bottom there. And the list for school supplies. Oh, this is just so exciting!"

"Does this mean I'll get my own wand too?" Lily nodded and Harry's face lit up. When he was younger, Harry was always stealing his parents' wands. Even if he didn't know any spells he just loved waving them around seeing what would happen and what kind of sparks would fly out of them. Once he had accidentally set the tip of their cat's tail of fire. Harry, only being four at the time, had just sat there and laughed as the cat ran around trying to do something. Eventually, Harry's dad, James Potter, grabbed the cat and doused its tail with water. After this Lily and James made sure not to leave their wands where Harry could reach them.

"I don't think we'll have time to go to Diagon Alley today, but I promise we will go either tomorrow or some time this week." Lily kissed the top of Harry's head. Harry couldn't stop looking at the letter. He was pretty sure that September 1st would take its sweet time coming.

Harry spent most of day remembering all the stories his mum and dad had told him about Hogwarts. The other part of the day he spent thinking about what House he was going to be in. He hoped it would be Gryffindor just like his parents. Of course there was the possible that he would be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. But Harry was pretty sure that he wasn't going to be in Slytherin. First of all, James detested Slytherin and once when Harry had brought Slytherin up, Lily had gotten really sad and then rather mad and snapped at Harry to not mention Slytherin again. Later, she had hugged him tightly saying over and over again how sorry she was for snapping at him. Harry forgave her and made a mental note never to ask about it again. Harry was lost in his thoughts when he heard the front door open.

"Dad!" Harry jumped from where he had been sitting and ran to his dad.

"Hey there!" James knelt down to Harry's height and ruffled his hair. Harry beamed at his dad while he still clutched the Hogwarts letter.

"Aw, father-son moment. But don't I get any love?" Another man stepped into the house. Harry let go of his dad and ran other to the other man.

"Uncle Sirius!" Harry hugged Sirius' legs. Lily walked over and gave James a kiss.

"What's got Harry all excited? Sirius comes over almost every day." James asked as he put his arm around Lily.

"Harry show Daddy and Uncle Sirius what you got in the post today." Harry showed James the letter he had been holding on to this whole time. James took it from him and as he read it a smile crept over his face. Sirius looked over James' shoulder to see what the letter said.

"The little tyke is going to Hogwarts!" Sirius turned and picked up Harry for a piggyback ride. Harry laughed with delight as Sirius trotted around the living room.

"Sirius be careful with my son! I don't want him getting hurt!" Lily yelled over to Sirius who was trotting around the house now. Lily turned back to her husband and sighed, "I'm going to kill him if he breaks anything."

"Ah, Lily don't worry. Sirius knows to watch out." James looked back at the letter. "Did you guys head out today and get his stuff?"

"I would have but I was a bit busy today."

"Well, tomorrow we'll take him. But tonight we celebrate!" James picked up Lily and spun her around. Lily laughed and kissed her husband. But right in the middle of their celebrating there was a crash. James put down Lily and the two of them ran upstairs. When they got up there, they saw Sirius and Harry, who was still on Sirius' back, standing next to a broken vase. Harry was the first to notice his parents and quickly pointed at Sirius. Sirius was pretty scared only because he knew of Lily's wrath. Lily held back a giggle as her son continued to point at his Godfather and put the blame on him.

"Harry don't tell you mu- Hello there Lily." Sirius' face drained of all color once he saw Lily and James standing there. "It was a complete accident. And it was- Harry why are you pointing at me?" With that Lily burst out into laughter. She began to double over with all the laughter. James began to laugh to. Sirius grumbled and slid Harry off his back. He pulled out his wand and muttered 'Reparo.' Instantly the vase was fixed. Eleven-year-old Harry Potter couldn't have been any happier on that day.

The next day Lily took Harry to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies. Sure, Harry had been to Diagon Alley plenty of times before but today it felt different. When he left this place later today he would have his own cauldron, schoolbooks, and his own wand.

"Well, that one's no good…" Lily was wide-eyed with fright after almost being hit with a heavy box. Mr. Ollivander turned and picked up another wand. "Here try this one." Harry flicked the wand and a vase exploded right next to Lily. She jumped a little and moved away from it.

"Mum I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright Harry, I had a bit of trouble finding my wand too." Lily waved her wand and the vase was repaired.

"Well, let's try this one. Holly, eleven inches. Phoenix feather." Harry took the wand, this one felt different than the others. This one felt warm while the others had felt cold, and it felt like this was supposed to be in Harry's hand. "The wand chooses the wizard Mr. Potter." Lily went over and hugged her son. She paid Mr. Ollivander for the wand and the to of them left the shop.

"I think we have time to get one more thing. How would you like an owl?" Harry looked up at his mother with wide eyes.

"You mean it mum? My own owl?" Lily ruffled her son's hair.

"Sure, sweetheart. It'll be easier for you to send us letters that way." A huge grin appeared on Harry's face. He grabbed his mother's hand and pulled her to the Eeylops Owl Emporium. A few minutes after looking at the owls, and passing by some small brown owls that hooted and fluttered around when Harry and Lily passed them, Harry came upon a large snowy owl. She didn't notice the two people looking at her at first because she was fixing some of her feathers. Harry placed his hand on the cage and the owl turned and looked at him. She didn't peck at his hand like another large owl had, but instead she just looked at the messy-haired boy.

"Mum, can I have this one?" Harry turned to Lily. Lily looked at the snowy owl again who was now looking at her.

"Sure. She's a beauty isn't she?" Lily grabbed the cage that the snowy owl was in. The owl hooted happily but didn't get over excited like the smaller owls had. Once they paid for the owl, they left the shop and sat down on a nearby bench. "Hm, what should we name her?" Harry picked up one of his books, _Hogwarts, A History_; he started flipping through the pages until he came upon a name he liked.

"This one." Harry pointed to the name of the page.

"Hedwig. Hm, You know I think that fits her. Don't you?" Harry nodded. He looked over at his owl, who was now fast asleep. Harry closed the book and put it with the rest of his stuff. "Well, I think that's everything. Daddy should be home soon. He'll get to see all of your stuff." Lily helped Harry carry his stuff and the two of them went home. Harry just couldn't wait for September 1st to come.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I was hoping to do a series of oneshots about moments that never happened because of James and Lily's death. Next should be King's Cross station and the Hogwarts Express.**


	2. Kings Cross Station

"Hurry up you three! We're going to be late!" Lily Potter was speed walking through Kings Cross Station. Her son was next to her pushing his truck and other things on a cart. Quite a distance behind them, were Lily's husband James and his two best friends Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They had been chatting away and didn't realize the time.

"Oh Lily, we'll be fine! We've got another twenty minutes before the train leaves." James slowed his pace a little. He didn't think there was any need to rush.

"But I want to make sure Harry is okay!" Lily and Harry stopped in front of a brick column. "Alright sweetheart. What you want to do is run straight through the wall there."

"But mum…" Lily gave him a quick hug.

"I'll see you over there. Trust me, it's better if you find out for yourself." Lily smiled and kissed Harry's forehead. She gave him a little nudge and took a step back. Harry cautiously took a step foreword. Sure his parents, Uncle Sirius, and Uncle Remus had all told him about how to get on to Platform 9 ¾. But seeing the wall for the first time kind of scared Harry. What if he crashed into the column? Would they be disappointed in him? Harry took a deep breath and took another step, which somehow turned into a run and Harry ended up on the other side. Harry was amazed by his surroundings. Even growing up in a wizarding family it still amazed him, the brilliant red train, the ton of students and families saying good-bye. All of the sudden a warm hug enveloped Harry.

"Isn't it amazing Harry?" His mother's sweet voice came from behind him. "I remember my first train ride."

"Ha, I remember that too. You didn't like me." Harry glanced over and saw his dad standing by his mum. "But then again it took you a while to like me."

"That's because you were so arrogant and you showed off all the time." James smirked and gave Lily a kiss on the cheek.

"Ah, the good old days."

"What about the good old days?" Sirius and Remus appeared out of the brick column.

"How Lily, absolutely hated me." A huge grin appeared on Sirius' face.

"That's right. Took you two a while to get together didn't it Flower Child." Lily let go of Harry, whipped out her wand and pointed it at Sirius.

"I swear Sirius, the next time you call me 'Flower Child' I will hex you." Sirius took a step back and bumped into a redheaded boy.

"Oi mister! Watch it!"

"Sorry!" Sirius took a step aside to avoid the boy and Lily's wand. A plump redheaded woman came running up to the boy.

"Ronald Weasley! I told you not to get separated from us! Come on now! We've got to get your things on the train." The woman led the boy away.

"Weasley… Isn't that the man from Misuse of Muggle Artifacts?" James and Sirius agreed with Lupin. They'd heard about the Weasley's huge family before.

"Don't they- Oh dear! Harry we have to get you on the train now!" Lily helped her son over to the train to get his things packed up. Once everything was packed on the train, everyone gave Harry a hug and said good-bye. James held Lily as she began to cry. Harry stepped up on the train as the engine started to get ready to go. He stood at an open window and waved good-bye to his family. The train pulled out of the station and Harry watched his parents and their two friends slowly disappear. When he could se them anymore he decided to find somewhere to sit. Harry pushed through older students chatting away with their friends. He finally found an empty compartment but when he opened the door he saw the redheaded boy was sitting in it.

"Hey! You can join me!" The boy smiled at Harry. So he went and sat across from him. "Ronald Weasley. Call me Ron. And you are?"

"Harry Potter. Call me Harry." Ron chuckled.

"Alright then Harry. I think we're going to be good friends." Just then two boys burst into the compartment. They were tall with red hair and were identical. Harry assumed they were twins, they was no other explanation for it.

"Oi Ron! What sandwich did mum give you?" The twin on the left had spoke. Ron pulled out a slightly squished sandwich from his pocket.

"Corned beef. Again…"

"Well, never mind. See you later." With that the twins had disappeared.

"Who…"

"My older brothers, Fred and George."

"Ah."

"Yeah, I have five older brothers and a younger sister."

"Wow, that's a lot."

"One of my great-uncles said that, 'We Weasleys breed like rabbits' I guess that means there's a lot of us. So what about you?"

"Only child. Though I think my mum wants another child."

"Eh, siblings aren't _that_ great…" Before Harry could reply, a girl with frizzy brown hair burst into the compartment. She frantically looked around as if she had lost something.

"Have either of you seen a toad? A boy's lost one."

"No, we haven't… Are you going to a first-year with us?" The brunette girl looked at the messy-haired boy.

"Of course, do I look older?"

"Well, you're already in your robes…" The girl shot a look at Ron.

"We're going to be there soon and I thought if I'm helping look for this toad then I won't have time to change before." The girl and Ron glared at each other for a few seconds before Harry broke the tension.

"I'm Harry Potter."

"Hermione Granger. And _you_ are?"

"Ron Weasley."

"Nice to meet you two." Hermione turned to leave, and then looked over her shoulder. "If either of you two see the toad it belongs to Neville Longbottom. By the way _Ron_, You've got a bit of dirt on your nose." With that Hermione left the compartment. Ron rubbed his nose trying to get the so-called dirt off. By the time Ron was satisfied with the cleaning of the outside of his nose, the candy trolley had rolled along. Harry eagerly jumped up to get his favorite treats. On shopping trips with his mum she would sneak him a chocolate frog or some other candy and told him to eat it before they got home. Lily rarely let sweets inside the house unless it was a holiday. So Harry gladly went on shopping trips with her. Realizing his friend's utter disgust for the sandwich that he held in his hand, Harry bought a few extra to share. Upon seeing that Harry was going to share, Ron quickly snatched up a chocolate frog.

"I've been collecting these for a while now. Let's see… Oh darn, another Dumbledore. I've got about six of him."

"Six? I've only got two. But I think my mum accidentally threw out one of mine." Ron look of horror made Harry laugh. The boys continued to discuss Chocolate Frog cards suddenly began to slow down. Harry and Ron panicked as they quickly changed into their robes. They stepped off the train and were left in utter amazement. A large man with brown, scruffy hair and beard called out to the first-years. Ron and Harry pushed through the crowd of older students going the other way. They managed to get to the front, right next to Hermione and a slightly awkward boy who looked nervous as all get out.

"My name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. First-years will be taking the boats across the lake." The large man led the to the boats. Harry nudged Ron.

"You ready?"

"Totally."

**Ah! Long time no write! Anyway, next will be sorting and beginning of classes. **


	3. Gryffindor!

Lily Potter was desperately missing her son. It had only been a day since he had left for school but Lily missed him all the more. Mainly because it was her baby boy, but also because she know was alone in the house. With James off at work Lily had no one to keep her company. After cleaning the house to her liking, Lily stood in the kitchen just staring around not sure what to do next. She had tried to convince James to get a TV, but her husband was still a bit iffy on the idea. She began to move out of the kitchen when a taping came from the kitchen window. She looked and saw that it was Hedwig, Harry's owl. Lily quickly got over to the window, opening it up for to let Hedwig in. The snowy owl hopped in and onto the table, she then held out her leg where a letter was tied. Lily untied it and handed Hedwig a treat before nearly ripping the letter open with excitement.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I love Hogwarts. It's so incredible, and it's just like all the stories you, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus told me. I've already made friends with Ron Weasley on the train but I'm sure I'll make more. Though there are a few people I already don't like. Draco Malfoy. I think Dad said something about Mr. Malfoy? Well his son's not any better. _

_I have to start classes soon so I guess I'll tell you the news. I'm in Gryffindor! I love it!_

_Well I have I go, so lots of love to Mum, Dad, Uncle Sirius, and Uncle Remus!_

_Your son, Harry Potter_

Lily tried her hardest not to crumple the paper as she squealed and jumped for joy. Her son was in Gryffindor! Lily was so full of excitement she didn't know what to do with herself. She ran to the hallway and to the closet and grabbed a jacket. She quickly pulled it on and went over to the fireplace. Grabbing some Floo Powder, she stepped in and yelled, "Ministry of Magic!" Once appearing at the Ministry, Lily did her best not to cause a ruckus. Trying to contain her excitement, the redhead calmly walked to the elevator with other wizards and witches. When she got to the Auror Department, Lily walked to James' office where she could hear James and Sirius laughing about something. Lily knocked on the door and waited as James opened it.

"Lil-" James couldn't even finish her name before she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Harry's a Gryffindor!" James realizing what she had she had just said, held her tight and spun her around in what little room they had. Sirius let out a laugh.

"Looks like he takes after his parents!" James let go of Lily and she showed him the letter, which was slightly crumpled now. James quickly read over the letter and laughed at his son's already dislike towards the youngest Malfoy. Once he was done, James grabbed Lily again and kissed her. Sirius managed to get the letter out of James hand and read it. He let out a loud laugh as he read it.

"Well, he's certainly a lot like James isn't he?" James and Lily pulled apart and Lily gave Sirius a quickly glare.

"He's got plenty of me in him too. He'll be brilliant at potions, just you see." Sirius rolled his eyes and turned away. Lily began to pull out her wand to hex him when a knock came from the door. The three adults turned to see a witch with short spiky hair leaning in the doorway.

"What's all the excitement about?" Lily went to the woman and grabbed her hands.

"Oh Alice! Harry's a Gryffindor!"

"Really? Congratulations!" The two women hugged. "Oh, I haven't heard a thing from Neville yet. Harry must have gone straight to the Owlery this morning and sent you that letter."

"Oh, I sure Neville will write the second he gets too. Wouldn't that be great if the boys were both in Gryffindor?"

"That would be so great! But, I am a bit nervous about how Neville's going to do in his classes."

"Oh Alice, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"I'm sure he will be. Well, I've really better get back to work." Alice gave Lily another hug and waved goodbye to James and Sirius.

"I probably should be off too. You two probably have work you _should_ be doing." Lily gave James another kiss before leaving.

"Should? She knows us too well Prongs."

[linelineline]

"Harry! Harry!" Harry turned around and saw Neville Longbottom trotting up to him and Ron. Neville reached the two other boys nearly out of breath. "Harry could you show me where the Owlery is? I've got to send I letter to my mum and dad. I have to tell them I'm in Gryffindor!" Harry patted the boy's back.

"Sure thing! Ron and I were just heading up there now!" The three boys walked to the Owlery, where it was mostly filled with First-years writing to their parents about which House they were in. Ron and Neville found owls and sent off letters to their parents.

"It pointless really though to send and owl to my parents. Percy, Fred and George have probably-" Ron ran right into Hermione, which accidentally knocked the brunette over. Harry helped her up and noticed that she had a letter, which she somehow managed not to drop, in her hand.

"You writing to your parents too? What Houses were they in?" Hermione fidgeted as she looked at the letter and then back at Harry and Ron.

"My parents didn't go here. They're um, Muggles…" Harry opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off a cruel chuckle coming form behind them. All three looked and saw Draco Malfoy standing there.

"Muggle parents? What was your name? Granger wasn't it? And you're in Gryffindor. Should be in Hufflepuff." Before Harry could react, Ron was already in Draco's face.

"At least that'll be better than Slytherin, Malfoy. You're in there 'cause the rest of your family was in there. Her-" Ron looked at Hermione, trying to think of how to say her name. He decided to give it his best shot and faced Malfoy again. "My-o-knee. Hermione got in Gryffindor because she has talent."

"I don't need to hear this from you Weasley. If I remember, all your brothers have been in Gryffindor." Harry stepped up next to Ron.

"Then hear it from me. Leave Hermione alone." Malfoy glared at Harry and Ron, and then turned on his heel and left. Harry and Ron shared a smirk and then turned back to Hermione, who was staring at the two boys in shock.

"You two didn't need to that."

"Malfoy's a git. He thinks just because his family _"completely pure-blood"_ that he can do whatever he wants."

"Besides, my mum is a Muggle-born witch too. She's brilliant." Hermione look of shock was replaced by a huge smile.

"Thanks guys."

"C'mon. Let's go get that letter mail." The bushy-haired brunette smiled as she and the two boys walked off through the Owlery.

**I probably have some explaining to do. **

**First, I've completely taken Voldemort out of the equation. Either he never existed or he was defeated before Lily and James ever got together. So that's why Neville's mum is perfectly sane and still working.**

**Second, since Voldemort is not around there's no reason for Quirrel to let the troll into Hogwarts, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione needed some else for them to bond over. I'll probably add something more later, but I thought Harry and Ron standing up for her against Malfoy was good.**


End file.
